The Science of Motivation | PART 6 - Task Orientation - What’s a better view? Helicopter or Microscopic

One line recap (of previous module)

So, have you decided if you’re more fired up when given a set of procedures to follow? Or do your eyes light up everytime you’re given the free hand to explore new ways to get things done?

I’m sure if you look back at your work preferences, there’ll be clues.

Today, I’m going to give you two kinds of tickets. One is for a helicopter ride, and another is for a vehicle that can shrink down to the size of an ant (yes, you’re Ant-Man).

Let’s take a look at both these rides.

Objectives:

• Discover if you’re driven to get a big picture view of things, or are you detail-orientated?

Meet Larry. Larry to take a couple of steps back and look at the big picture. He wants to be know what comes before his department, and what happens to his work after it’s moved down the process chain. Even in the reports you present to him, he likes to work with medium to large chunks of data.

Some would say he has a global-view of things, and they would probably be right. And they would say when it comes to sequences, he could be random and jumping all over the place (not the same as Generating Alternatives in the previous module).

Sometimes when Larry looks at the big picture, he would see Jasmine.

Jasmine is detail-orientated, and loves to go microscopic when it comes to her tasks. She will comb through the details, often a few times, look at the nitty-gritty of things, and often interrogate the details out of her co-workers. She believes that excellence is in the details, and even if others will miss the little bits, she can sleep better knowing she had covered every micro-gap there is.

You and I will agree that for any business to function properly, there must be Larrys and Jasmines on the ship. If you’re like Larry, you’ll be like a visionary, but you will also tend to make mistakes. It’s hard to watch out for the tiny cracks on the road if you’re taking huge steps.

However, if you’re a Jasmine, it’s great that you can spot all the cracks, but you know the ironic thing? You may be so focused on every hole and bump that you’re heading down the wrong direction!

Although the Buddhist philosophy is to take the middle path, which may work, my take is why not work in your areas of strength?

If you are a big picture, helicopter-view kind of person like Larry, and just be that! Don’t stress out over the details because it’s not something natural to you.

If you’re a detailed-focused executor like Jasmine, know that your company and teammates value your eye of the tiny details, and they trust you to spot mistakes and errors, even on the smallest scale.

Action Step or Recap:

First, let’s decide if you are big picture or detail-orientated, or both! Success often leaves clues, so look back at your past achievements and you’ll find out which is more comfortable for you, helicopter or microscopic. You can ask those who work closely with you too.